Kondiba Koli

The Kondiba Babaji Koli (1920 - 1942) was a Koli freedom fighter from Indian state of Maharashtra, martyred during the Quit India Movement. As a son of the soil from Pune district, he embodied the grassroots resistance of working-class Kolis against British colonial oppression, participating in mass protests that demanded immediate independence. His death in police firing highlighted the brutal suppression of the 1942 uprising in rural and semi-urban areas of the Bombay Presidency.

• Name: Kondiba Babaji Kolk
• Father: Babaji Koli
• Birth: 1920 in Pune district (then Poona), Maharashtra
• Death: 11 August 1942
• Movement: Quiet India Movement

Early Life and Background

Kondiba Koli born on 1920 in Pune district (then Poona), Maharashtra. Son of Babaji Koli; hailed from a modest Koli agrarian background, facing economic hardships under colonial land and labor policies that exploited communities like the Kolis. He engaged in local agricultural or manual work, which exposed him to the exploitative  system prevalent in the region.

Role in the Freedom Struggle

Kondiba actively joined the Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942, a nationwide call for "Do or Die" civil disobedience to end British rule. He mobilized with fellow villagers in Poona (Pune) for demonstrations protesting colonial governance, high taxes, and resource exploitation issues acutely felt by Kolis, farmers, and laborers. His participation aligned with broader Koli involvement in satyagraha activities, echoing earlier tribal resistances in Maharashtra, such as those during the 1857 Revolt.

On 11 August 1942, just days into the movement Kondiba was part of a protest near the Gadital police station in Hadapsar, Poona district. British police, enforcing the crackdown under the Defense of India Rules, opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators without warning, a tactic that claimed over 1,000 lives nationwide during Quit India. He sustained severe bullet wounds and died on the spot at age 22, becoming one of the early martyrs in Maharashtra's phase of the uprising.